Marryin' Berries (with beer) Irish Red Ale (F13-01-01-36)

 

Label inspiration: A nod to the "wonderful" former mayor of Washington, D.C.- Marion Barry.

Based on the Blackberry Red Ale recipe from Brooklyn Brew Shop 

I received Columbus hops instead of Cascade (as listed in the recipe- but I went ahead and brewed with it. I contacted the Brooklyn Brew Shop.

*One gallon all-grain*

Brewed on August 17, 2015. The brew day went fairly well. I had some issues with the mash temperature. I had to add some hot water to bring the temp up over 144 degrees (I did this at the 30 minute mark- I doubt it was going to make it at that temp).  I added a dash of cinnamon to the mash.

Temps were kept between 68-70 for a few weeks, not a lot of temperature problems with this one.

August 31, 2015. Bottled beer. As I was bottling this beer and priming with honey, I realized that I added both honey AND fizz drops to my Ivywild IPA. Ooops. I checked online and found out that I could release some of the CO2 gas by gently lifting the cap with a bottle opener (without bending the cap) and let it sit for a bit before I re-cap the bottles. 

September 5, 2015. I released a little CO2 from the bottles.

September 10, 2015. Even though the beer hasn't really matured enough, I decided to try one tonight (I threw them in the refrigerator yesterday). I REALLY didn't like this beer. There were chunks of yeast or mold or something floating in the bottles. I'd like to try this (and the Ivywild IPA) again to see if I can actually get a good beer.

September 21, 2015. I finally poured the last one out today. I have tried each and every one of them and could never get past the third or fourth sip. Maybe I'll try the recipe again, who knows...maybe without honey as the primer. OR as much honey...

OVERALL SCORE: 1 out of 10.